Obama diagnosed with acid reflux

Associated Press

December 6, 2014

BETHESDA, Md. — Acid reflux is responsible for the sore throat President Barack Obama has complained about for the past couple of weeks, the White House said Saturday, shortly after the president returned from undergoing diagnostic tests.

Obama’s motorcade went to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center here, where a CT scan was performed and was normal. Obama, 53, was at the facility for about a half-hour before returning to the White House.

The CT scan followed a morning fiber optic exam performed on Obama at the White House by an ear, nose and throat specialist from Fort Belvoir Medical Center in Northern Virginia and supervised Dr. Ronny Jackson, Obama’s physician and director of the White House Medical Unit.

Jackson said in a statement that the fiber optic exam revealed “soft tissue swelling” in the back of Obama’s throat. Jackson said he and the specialist, who was not identified, determined that “further evaluation with a routine CT scan was prudent.”

“The president’s symptoms are consistent with soft tissue inflammation related to acid reflux and will be treated accordingly,” he said, without elaborating on exactly how Obama’s condition would be treated.

Acid reflux is caused when the contents of the stomach flow back up the esophagus, causing heartburn and other symptoms.